


First Meeting You (it might've been fate)

by jhxnnats



Category: Iron Man 2 - Fandom, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Best Friend Ned Leeds, Child Peter Parker, Childhood Stories, Crying, Gen, Hammer Industries, Hopeful Ending, Irondad, Justin Hammer is mentioned, May Parker and Tony are friends, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Post-Infinity War, Precious Peter Parker, Reminiscing, Sad, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, but mentioned often, kind of, may and ben love their boi, part 2 is, those were the tags for the first part, tony is in it briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-03 17:32:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17288387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jhxnnats/pseuds/jhxnnats
Summary: Peter goes on a field trip to Hammer Industries and afterwards to Stark Expo. Chaos ensues.





	1. Past

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! This part of the fic is set in 2010, when the Iron Man 2 movie takes place. Someone has confirmed that the little boy in Iron Man 2 was Peter Parker and I just had to write about it. Peter is 8 years old in this and is a big fan of Tony. 
> 
> I just let my imagination run wild on this so I hope you guys enjoy!

The classroom was full of children, loud conversations happening just as Peter sat down in his seat next to Ned. Said boy grinned at his best friend and hugged him as a greeting. 

"Hey, Peter! You won't believe what I got for my birthday yesterday!" Ned said excitedly, excitement quickly transfered to Peter. His best friend pulled out a box full of Star Wars Legos, a gasp passing Peter's lips. 

"That's so cool, Ned!" He said in awe, inspecting the picture at the front of the box. It looked cool and Peter found it unfair that his ninth birthday was not going to be until a few months.

Ned, being the best friend that he is, noticed his friend's inner monologue. "Don't worry, I'm only going to build it with you. If you want to." Peter grinned and nodded eagerly. Just then, their teacher walked in, every child quickly hurrying to their seat. 

She smiled, as always, a friendly and warm smile. "Good morning, guys. Please take a seat. Is anyone absent?" One of the children spoke up, his name was David, Peter remembered distantly. "My sister, Ava is sick!" 

Ms. Johnson nodded and thanked him while writing down her name. "Alright. I have very exciting news for you all!" Every pupil listened up, curious as to what the news would be. 

"We are going on a field trip to Hammer Industries!" 

Many kids made loud noises of happiness and excitement, except Ned and Peter. Peter felt disappointment in the news, crossing his arms sulkily. He didn't like Justin Hammer at all. Tony Stark was way better in his opinion. Besides, Justin Hammer is rude, Peter had watched the conference from the congress live from the tv in the livingroom. 

Ned was also a big fan of Tony Stark and Iron Man, liking him better too. 

"A trip to Stark Industries would be way more fun, don't you think?" Ned asked as all the other kids talked in glee. Peter nodded, sighing sadly. "It's gonna be so boring, Ned. Justin Hammer is a fraud, he thinks he's this big genius but he isn't. Mr. Stark on the other hand is a genius and knows it. Everybody else knows it too. Besides, he tried taking away the Iron Man suits. But Mr. Stark exposed him and it was so awesome, I saw it live!" 

Ned nodded, a wide grin on his face as they talked about their favorite superhero. 

It wasn't long before their teacher spoke up again. "Okay, alright, time to calm down again. I'm going to hand out the permission slips and you've just got to get them signed by your parents–" She glanced at Peter. "Or in general legal guardians." 

Peter wasn't bothered by it anymore, sure he was sad that his parents are gone and that he doesn't remember much of them. May and Ben are the only people he relates to the word 'parents'. They've been caring for him since he was three, so from the beginning on for him it's just been May and Ben. 

Ben doesn't really like talking about his parents which is understandable since it must be hard to think back of someone who's gone now. May is more willing to tell him about his parents. 

After the permission slips were handed out, the lesson began. 

//

At the end of the school day, Ben had been waiting outside of the school building. With a smile, the man had held out his arms, Peter quickly running into them, wrapping his arms around his uncle. 

"Hey, Ben." Peter greeted happily, as his uncle ruffled his hair affectionely. "Hey, Pete. How was school?" The boy shrugged, sitting down in the backseat of the car. 

"Okay, I guess. Ned got more legos for his birthday and we're going on a field trip on friday." Peter informed, Ben looking back at him through the rearview mirror. 

"A field trip, huh? You excited?" Ben asked as they pulled out of the school's parking lot. The young boy shook his head, getting sulky again. "No. It's going to be boring and stupid." 

The man in front of the wheel furrowed his eyebrows, giving his nephew a questioning look. "Where are you going to go?" 

Peter sighed, looking out of the window, watching the buildings they pass. "Hammer Industries." Ben chuckled, nodding. "I'm sorry, kiddo. You would rather see Stark, right?" 

The child looked at his uncle ironically. "Well, duh. Mr. Stark is way better than Justin Hammer. Justin Hammer copies Mr. Stark, it's horrible that our school even makes field trips to there. Justin Hammer lets other people make his stuff while Mr. Stark actually invents and builds his own machines."

Ben looked at his nephew fondly. "I totally agree with you, Pete. Talking about Tony Stark, your aunt and I have a surprise waiting for you at home." 

After that, Peter could not stop fidgeting in excitement. 

//

"Ned, Ned, Ned!" Peter said as he caught sight of his friend outside of the school building, waiting for the bus to take them to Hammer Industries. 

Said friend turned to Peter with a soft smile. "Hi, Peter. What's got you so excited?" 

"I'm—" Peter was interrupted by their teacher who looked at them sternly. "Guys, I already said you should get on the bus now. Hurry."  
With that, Peter and Ned hurried onto the bus. 

He'd just have to tell Ned later. 

//

The building alone was disappointing, just a block of grey on the outskirts of Queens. Peter was already extremely unimpressed. Their teacher led them inside the building, the lobby big and held in a plain white, the tiles in the same color, as the counters and desks. 

So Justin Hammer didn't have good taste as well, another minus point. 

Ms. Johnson went to the secretary and told her about the field trip, the woman immediately standing up to get their tour guide. Every child was looking around in awe, girls and boys alike pointing to the pictures of Justin Hammer, gasping and giggling. Peter and Ned could not relate at all. 

Their tour guide was a young woman, probably in her late teens still. She had a nice smile, a badge hanging from her neck. 

"Good morning! I'm Layla Martinez and I will be your tour guide for today. First of all, do you all know what this is?" She lifted her badge, a few hands shooting into the air enthusiastically. Layla pointed to someone at the front. 

"Is that your name tag?" 

"Not exactly but it's close." Layla said looking for more hands, hands that had been up before going down now. Peter took a closer look at the badge, seeing her name and a number next to it and also the word 'intern'. 

He raised his hands slowly. 

The tour guide smiled softly and nodded at him. 

"It's a security badge, right? One that shows your level of access, name and status." Peter answered, his teacher looking at him with a wide smile. Layla nodded, an impressed look on her face. 

"That is very correct. What's your name?" She asked. Peter blushed, all eyes on him now. "Peter." He whispered, Layla noticing how he shy he got and decided to move on with the tour. 

They walked around the offices for a while and met the marketing manager, then they saw the blueprints for some of Hammer's work where Peter was once again proven that Justin Hammer is a copycat. 

"Currently Mr. Hammer is working on a new line of drones. I can't say anything else to this since he's keeping it pretty under covers." Layla explained as they passed one of the prototypes that seemingly failed, fried cables hanging loosely from the drone. 

Peter was actually kind of angry, if he had to be honest. Seeing all this, seeing how uncreative this all is and just copied, it makes him feel upset. That Justin Hammer is even allowed to do this was absurd. 

Slowly but surely, Peter needed to pee. So, just as they walked through another hallway which was plain white through and through, he stopped when he saw the sign that read 'toilets'. He walked through the door and quickly made his business. 

When he left the bathroom again, his class was gone. He looked both ways at the hallway, many doors on either side. The hallway also seemed to lead into a bigger hall, loud noises coming from there. As if someone was working with metal and eletricity. 

Peter decided to look there first.  
The hall was big and open, machines that looked like drones standing lined up on an elevated platform. The only difference from all the other rooms and offices was that the hall was almost empty. No person, staff littered around the room. 

Just the machines. 

"What are you doing here?" An unknown voice suddenly resounded, echoing through the open space, thick with some accent Peter couldn't determine. 

He flinched, not having seen the man who was working on one of the drones. He was tall, long black hair with white strands hanging from his head, a scar under his left eye and a tooth pick in his mouth. All in all, Peter would describe him as intimidating. But Tony Stark wouldn't be afraid so he decided he wouldn't be either. 

"I thought my class was back here. They must've already gone ahead." Peter answered, voice clear and no particular emotion seeping through it. The man looked at him for a while and grinned. "Field trip?" A nod from Peter. 

"And? What do you think of Hammer Industries?" He asked, sitting back down in front of the drone, continiung the wiring of the machine. 

Peter sighed. "Fine, I guess. Boring, to be honest. Mr. Stark is way better, by far." 

A chuckle came from the stranger. "You like Tony Stark?" 

The primary school student nodded eagerly, lighting up at the question. "Of course! My aunt and uncle gave me tickets to go to his next Expo. It's going to be awesome. They also promised me to buy one of those Iron Man masks and a fake repulsor!" 

The man stopped working for a second, a smirk coming to rest on his face. "Oh, is that so? Good to know....good to know." He repeated quietly, Peter not actually listening anymore because he hears the fast nearing footsteps of his teacher, heels clacking against the linoleum tiles of the hallway. 

He quickly ran back to the hallway, stranger forgotten. 

The stranger on the other hand didn't forget, grinning sadistically as he typed in the protocoll to kill everything that even remotely looks like Iron Man, even a mask. 

//

"Ben, this is so cool! May, did you see that?" Peter rambled excitedly, aunt and uncle on either side of him, both holding his hands tightly. He's wearing his mask and repulsor glove, walking around the Expo attractions. 

"Do you wanna see the presentation, honey?" May asked, pointing to the hall where people were starting to take their seats. He nodded and pulled his guardians along to the hall. 

//

Just after Iron Man had left through the roof, the drones shot the glass, sending it down to the floor, people screaming and running. Peter was pulled along by Ben and May for a while until he suddenly couldn't feel a hand in his anymore, more people pushing and running, screaming too. He wanted to look around for May or Ben but the adults were to tall for him to see anything. 

His legs carried him even though he didn't actually want that. Suddenly, someone shoved him so that he fell to the concrete ground, probably outside of the Expo center now. His ungloved hand was probably bleeding a little, as were his knees but he didn't care about the pain. He stood up again, people now gone, no crowd around him anymore. 

He heard loud footsteps, a drone making its way over to him, planting its feet into the concrete, looking around for a target. Peter, not scared but determined and brave, lifted his gloved hand, repulsor light shining on the drone which now locked on him. 

He barely registered Iron Man landing behind him and a real repulsor going off, sending the drone to the ground, falling into its many pieces. 

"Nice work, kid." With that, his idol flew off. 

Peter looked after him, mouth agape under his mask. 

"Peter? Peter? Peter! Oh my god, Peter!" May's voice suddenly came from next to him, the woman kneeling in front of him, pulling off his mask, cupping his cheeks, checking him for any injuries. 

"Honey, oh my god, did you get hurt, sweetie? Are you okay?" She asked frantically, shaking a little herself. Peter looked at his hands, ungloved hand scraped and bloody. Then, he looked back at his aunt and uncle. 

"Iron Man just saved me!" 

//

At the end of the day, they all got away safely, Peter's hand and knees bandaged. They spent the rest of the night, cuddled up in bed together, May and Ben not wanting Peter to sleep alone for the night. 

Peter was more than happy to lie in between his guardians, feeling safer than ever. He had his aunt, uncle and Iron Man. 

He was going to be fine.


	2. Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Right after Tony gets rescued, he needs to see one person.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exha—

No matter how many times Tony would repeat that inner mantra, and actually following it, it didn't feel like he was breathing. Or thinking. Or anything, really. 

He didn't feel. Then again, he did feel. 

It was like a trance. 

Tony still stood outside the door, the door which would lead him into May and Peter Parker's homey apartment. 

Peter. 

Just thinking of his name, face—him—made Tony feel again. In this case, not a very good thing. An indescribable sadness and what feels like a tonne of guilt washes over him, almost as if they were the ocean in high waves, trying to drown him.

He stood there, unmoving, clothes ripped, bloody and dirty. The clothes he wore when just a few hours ago the kid—his kid—had disappeared in his arms, begging for his help. And all he could do was hold him until he vanished. 

He wasn't able to protect him. 

Tony looked down to his feet, not even knowing how to do this. How could he tell May Parker that her nephew, her last living family member, had died on a foreign planet in space? 

May and him have never had the best of all relationships. She didn't like him at all at first. But with being Peter's mentor slash father-figure for more than two years now, they both tried their best. He won't ever forget the day he got a call from May Parker, yelling at him for at least half an hour when she found out that he had made a suit for her nephew so that he could fight crime on a daily basis. 

They worked it out though. 

Tony had no idea if this was something they could just work out. 

The moment Captain Marvel or also known as Carol Danvers rescued him and set him on earthly soil in New York, where he'd met Rhodey and the others again, the first question he asked was;

"Are Pepper and May Parker alive?" 

Thank god for both of these women being alive. Pepper was back at her family's house, wanting to be with them in this grim time. 

May on the other side was alone in her apartment. Waiting—hoping for her nephew to be alive. Uncertain.

Tony lifted his right hand, not his left. The left one, which was still covered with the last remains of Peter Parker. He could feel the dried blood on his face, the dried blood around his wound.

But nothing weighed heavier than the pain of losing Peter Parker.

He inhaled once again, not feeling any difference, and knocked on the chipped wooden door.

//

May sat on her couch, hands clasped together, eyes focused on the phone placed in front of her on the table. The TV was on but it was no use, they kept playing the emergency broadcoast. The last news were that Tony had went missing with the strange spaceship, Peter not being on the field trip he was supposed to be on. 

May Parker was a woman with hope. For her, hope was everything she still has. 

And then, a knock on the door. 

She flinched mildly, frozen for a moment before jumping up and opening the door. When she caught sight of a bloody and shaken Tony, she knew. 

She knew her hope had been useless. 

The man looked like he wanted to say something but he couldn't, brown eyes shining with unshed tears. May felt her own eyes well up, tears falling without any other warning. 

A part of her wanted nothing more than to yell at Tony until her voice was gone. The other part knew that this wasn't Tony's fault, that Peter would've disappeared wether on earth or in space. That part of her also knew how painful this was for Tony as well. 

So, she decided. 

The woman wrapped her arms around the beaten superhero, pulling him into a tight hug. Both of their tears fell in silence. 

They had both lost their kid. 

//

A while later, they had holed up in the apartment, sitting at a table with cups of tea. Not many words were spoken so far. Tony started first. 

"I'm sorry, May. I am so sor—" The woman held her hand up, a look on her face that shut Tony right up. 

She took a slow sip of her tea. 

"Listen, Tony. This isn't your fault. You did all you could. You protected my nephew till it was impossible to. You've been protecting him since the start of his vigilante life. Hell, he was running around in a sweater and sweatpants before you gave him a proper suit. Not only have you been doing that, you've saved him many times. You've been there for him many times. You help him out, Tony. He needs that. When Ben left, Peter blamed himself, I knew it. I didn't really know why but I knew. Now that I know all of it, it makes me want to erase the word guilt. And you, Tony, you've been helping him get rid of that useless guilt." 

May said, a genuine sincereness in her eyes. Her eyes glanced at a box under the TV and a soft smile came to rest on her lips as she stood up to get the box. Once she sat back down at the table, she pulled out what looked like a photo book. It was worn and full. 

The woman pushed it towards Tony and nodded her head towards it. 

"Look at it and ask all the questions you want to ask." 

And so, Tony did. 

He flipped open the book, the first pictures being of Baby Peter in the typical hospital clothes. Under those pictures it read in neat handwriting;

Peter Benjamin Parker  
Born on the 10th of August  
You came earlier than we thought but you're doing great, honey. 

Tony looked up at May when he saw the photos of Peter in the NICU. 

"He was a preemie, one month too early. Scared the heck out of us but everything went fine. He was there for about a week and a half, had to do the car seat test twice. Other than that, he was the most perfect baby, always." May explained, smilling fondly as she took a glance at the pictures. 

Despite feeling sadder than ever, Tony felt a smile tug at his lips. Peter has always been good at scaring the people that love him. 

After flipping the page a few times again, he came across a picture where looked to be about four or five, cake all around his mouth, a plate with a piece in his hand, smile wide. 

May let out a chuckle which sounded kind of wet, tears glistening in her eyes once again. 

"That was a fun day. It was his fifth birthday party and we had two cakes, one for the adults with some alcohol in it and the other one for the kids. They both looked very similiar. Turns out, we gave Peter a few pieces of the one with alcohol. And after he ate like three pieces, Ben picked him up and held him into the air like in The Lion King and he barfed all over the livingroom. It was disgusting but hilarious." 

Tony winced but smiled all the same. More pictures of birthdays came and other occasions. But one made him stop. 

It was a picture of May, Peter and what he assumed to be Ben. The married couple were on either side of Peter who was wearing an Iron Man mask, holding up his hand which wore a repulsor glove. In the back was a billboard that read 'Stark Expo 2010'. 

It immediately dawned on Tony. 

With wide eyes he looked at May. 

"You guys were there that day? He was the little boy that tried to destroy a drone with a fake glove?" He asked, incredulous. 

May nodded, smiling at his reaction. "Yeah. We lost him in the chaos of people that were panicking. I thought we'd lose him. We found him just a few seconds after you saved him from that drone. I remember being so worried, he had a few bloody scraped on him because someone must've shoved him. But he didn't care about that. The first thing he told me was that Iron Man saved him." 

Tony let out a light chuckle, slowly getting sad again. 

"We'll get him back. Even if it ends in my death, I'll do anything to get him back, I swear, May." He promised. 

The woman shook her head. "He wouldn't want that. Try a way where you both come back out alive." 

He nodded slowly. 

It's time to get his kid back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this small fic :) 
> 
> Fun Fact: the story that I used for Peter's fifth birthday party was actually based on one of mine, the only difference was that i was like 2 or 3

**Author's Note:**

> This'll have a part two which is going to be much more angsty and set in the future, post-Infinity War...sorry, I love suffering. Irondad is going to be strong in that one.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed and as always, I would appreciate comments :)


End file.
